Despite the threat that the Administration was “taking names” of any country that voted to condemn the move of the United States embassy to Jerusalem, Some 128 countries voted to do so. Only nine voted “no” with another 35 countries abstaining, including Mexico and Canada. Our allies of France and England joined in voting for the resolution. The nine negative votes came from US, Israel, Guatemala, Honduras, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau and Togo.

US Ambassador Nikki Haley issued a direct threat against what is the vast majority of the United Nations: “The United States will remember this day in which it was singled out for attack in this assembly . . . We will remember it when we are called upon to once again make the world’s largest contribution” to the United Nations. Haley also suggested that the vote would be considered in whether the United States is asked “to pay even more and to use our influence for their benefit.”

Putting aside the merits of the controversy, it strikes me as a problematic argument to advance that we pay into the United Nations so long as they vote the way that we dictate. It belittles not just the institution but our allies.

Here is the resolution:

The General Assembly,

Reaffirming its relevant resolutions, including resolution A/RES/72/15 of 30 November 2017 on Jerusalem.

Guided by the purpose and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, and reaffirming inter alia, the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by force,

Bearing in mind the specific status of the Holy City of Jerusalem and, in particular, the need for the protection and preservation of the unique spiritual, religious and cultural dimensions of the City, as foreseen in the relevant United Nations resolutions,

Stressing that Jerusalem is a final status issue to be resolved through negotiations in line with relevant United Nations resolutions,

Expressing in this regard its deep regret at recent decisions concerning the status of Jerusalem,

Affirms that any decisions and actions which purport to have altered, the character, status or demographic composition of the Holy City of Jerusalem have no legal effect, are null and void and must be rescinded in compliance with relevant resolutions of the Security Council, and in this regard, calls upon all States to refrain from the establishment of diplomatic missions in the Holy City of Jerusalem, pursuant to resolution 478 (1980) of the Security Council;

Demands that all States comply with Security Council resolutions regarding the Holy City of Jerusalem, and not to recognize any actions or measures contrary to those resolutions;

Reiterates its call for the reversal of the negative trends on the ground that are imperiling the two-State solution and for the intensification and acceleration of international and regional efforts and support aimed at achieving, without delay, a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East on the basis of the relevant United Nations resolutions, the Madrid terms of reference, including the principle of land for peace, the Arab Peace Initiative and the Quartet Roadmap and an end to the Israeli occupation that began in 1967;

Decides to adjourn the tenth emergency special session temporarily and to authorize the President of the General Assembly at its most recent session to resume its meeting upon request from Member States.

Comment navigation

And propaganda shall cover for everything. We’ll say terrorism, we’ll shout anti-Semitism, we’ll scream delegitimation, we’ll cite the Holocaust; we’ll say Jewish state, gay-friendly, drip irrigation, cherry tomatoes, aid to Nepal, Nobel Prizes for Jews, look what’s happening in Syria, the only democracy, the greatest army. We’ll say the Palestinians are making unilateral moves, we’ll propose negotiations on the “settlement bloc borders,” we’ll demand recognition of a Jewish state and we’ll complain that “there’s no one to talk to.”
***
That you can fool the whole world all the time. You can come up with all sorts of new (and strange) conditions every two or three years for ending the occupation and insisting that the spit we’re feeling is just raindrops. You can blame the Palestinians for everything and obscure the simple fact that this brutal occupation is Israeli. You can tell the world that it all belongs to us because the Bible says so and believe that anyone will take you seriously. You can be sure that the memory of the Holocaust will serve us forever, and justify any injustice.

Of course, it won’t work indefinitely. It hasn’t worked in any country in history, no matter how strong and well-established, not even in the mightiest empires. Justice always triumphs in the end, even if very belatedly. And justice says that Israel cannot continue to tyrannize another people forever, even if Haim Saban himself lends his support.
[emphasis added]https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.659480

If only Israel allowed U.S. mass media to have as frank a discussion as they permit in Israel among Jews.

Even Christians aren’t safe in the Middle East. Is this known as tolerance?

From the AP Today

CAIRO (AP) — Hundreds of Muslim demonstrators attacked an unlicensed church south of Cairo wounding three people, an Egyptian Coptic Christian diocese said on Saturday, in the latest assault on members of the country’s Christian minority.

The incident took place after Friday prayers when dozens of demonstrators gathered outside the building and stormed it. The demonstrators chanted hostile slogans and called for the church’s demolition, the diocese in Atfih said. The demonstrators destroyed the church’s contents and assaulted Christians inside before security personnel arrived and dispersed them.

The wounded were transferred to a nearby hospital, the diocese said after the attack, without elaborating.

A media coordinator at the diocese, the Rev. Yehnes Youssef, said later on Saturday that three Copts were wounded but have been treated.

The church in Giza just outside of Cairo is yet to be sanctioned by the state but has been holding prayers for 15 years. The diocese said it had officially sought to legalize the building’s status under a 2016 law that laid down the rules for building churches.

Local authorities often refuse to issue building permits for new churches, fearing protests by hardline Muslim. Christians sometimes build churches illegally or set up churches in other buildings.

Egypt’s Christian minority has been targeted by Islamic militants in a series of attacks since December 2016 that left more than 100 dead and scores wounded. The country has been under a state of emergency since April after suicide bombings struck two Coptic Christian churches on Palm Sunday in an attack that was claimed by the local affiliate of the Islamic State group.

But, of course, the clergy depicted in linked article were also Armenian – a people whose rights and very existence are nothing to the state of Israel, which, to this day, refuses to recognize the Armenian Genocide.

But, hey, why should Israel care about the mass slaughter of non-Jews? It’s not like we’re human to them.

If we are talking about the same incident it was three people that spit on someone. Firstly they were individuals that do not represent the nation of Israel nor Jews as a group. Secondly, there are always bad people that do not appropriately represent themselves or the group they may belong to. Third, we may not know the whole story. Haaretz is not the most reliable news and not infrequently overblows incidents unfavorable to the State of Israel.

On the other hand in the rest of the Middle East, we see killing and slaughters of Christians and opposing Muslim sects. This killing has led to hundreds of thousands of deaths that you neglect to think about preferring to become incensed only at what may have been inappropriate spitting. We see women being stoned to death because they are accused of looking at a man or having relations with him even if he was an aggressor. We see many of their brethren bombing different parts of the world killing large numbers of people.

Fiver, you indeed have a problem in that you have to search very hard to find a problem to report where there wasn’t even any injury while at the same time there are slaughters of people occurring with honor killings and terrorism. That is the type of slaughter you don’t seem to care about. If you really cared you would be calling for peace in the area and admitting Israel’s right to exist without interference of its sovereignty.

As far as the Armenian genocide, that occurred about 50 years before the State of Israel was born. It was a horrible situation that has been often repeated in the Middle East whether it be in Syria, Lebanon or any other area outside of the State of Israel. You may get your wish. Israel is considering formal recognition of the Armenian Genocide which was recognized informally by most everyone in Israel. Terrorism and mass killing today seems to be the furthest thing from your mind.

The Muslim Brotherhood and its arm, CAIR. The following is a portion of the Muslim Brotherhood Memorandum released at the Holy Land trial that lays out the intention of the Brotherhood to destroy the west along with our nation as we know it.

http://www.investigativeproject.org/documents/misc/20.pdf
Some quotes follow:
4- Understanding the role of the Muslim Brother in North America:
The process of settlement is a “Civilization-JihadistProcess” with all the word means. The Ikhwan must understand that their work in America is a kind of grand Jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and “sabotaging” its miserable house by their hands and the hands of the believers so that it is eliminated and God’s religion is made victorious over all other religions. Without this level of understanding, we are not up to this challenge and have not prepared ourselves for Jihad yet. It is a Muslim’s destiny to perform Jihad and work wherever he is and wherever he lands until the final hour comes, and there is no escape from that destiny except for those who chose to slack. But, would the slackers and the Mujahedeen be equal.
13- Understanding the U.S. society from its different aspects an understanding that “qualifies” us to perform the mission of settling our Dawa’ in its country “and growing it” on its land.
17- Understanding the role and the nature of work of “The Islamic Center” in every city with what achieves the goal of the process of settlement:
The center we seek is the one which constitutes the “axis” of our Movement, the “perimeter” of the circle of our work, our “balance center”, the “base” for our rise and our “Dar al-Arqam” to educate us, prepare us and supply our battalions in addition to being the “niche” of our prayers.